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Ohio junior Jasmine Weatherspoon shoots the ball during a game against Akron at The Convocation Center on Jan. 27, 2016. Ohio won with a final score of 75-55.

Women's Basketball: Kiyanna Black must bring her best game if Ohio wants to beat the MAC West leaders Ball State

Ohio will look to continue its 11-game win streak against Ball State on Saturday. 

Senior guard Kiyanna Black typically has taken on much of the scoring burden for the Bobcats this season.

That was not the case Wednesday, as the whole team contributed to a blowout win against Akron in The Convo. 

So, what's next for "Bob's Ballers"? The name is a popular moniker placed on the team.

Only a game against the Mid-American Conference West-leading Ball State Cardinals in Muncie, Indiana, on Saturday. 

"I think it's exciting," coach Bob Boldon said about playing the MAC West leaders.

"Road games are difficult to begin with and then you talk about the best team on the road," he said. "They'll take us very seriously and have a plan to eliminate the mistakes they made that cost them the game here."

If Wednesday's game was any indication of how the Bobcats (16-3, 8-0 MAC) do against the stronger end of MAC competition, Boldon won't want to make too many changes. 

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Black again led the team with 15 points, but redshirt freshman Kelly Karlis added a surprising 11 points off the bench while junior forward Jasmine Weatherspoon added seven points, six blocks and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes. 

With a balanced eight-person rotation and Weatherspoon being the defensive anchor, Ohio's defense looks solid. The Bobcats are ranked first in the MAC in defense, allowing 58 points per game. 

That will need to be solidified for a Bobcat team that narrowly sits above the Cardinals in scoring offense and scoring defense. Ball State (14-4, 6-1 MAC) is also selective with its shots, hitting a MAC-leading 44 percent of its field goals.

That means Ohio's defense can't switch off at any moment, which it has occasionally done this season. Nor can it allow teams back into games or dominate first halves before the Bobcats ultimately pull it out in the end. 

"We try to correct some mistakes every day and make sure that we're making progress to become a better team," Boldon said. "We don't want to be stagnant."

It also will help that Ohio's bench is finding its way on offense. 

"We were able to play a lot of people and a lot of people got in the scorebook," Boldon said about the games at Kent State and Northern Illinois. "To play two games on the road and not have to play a lot of minutes was something that might be valuable to us down the road. But it's nice to have the depth to be able to do that."

@KellenBecoats

kb749012@ohio.edu

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